In an early look at the 2016 presidential campaign, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
leads Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky 49 - 41 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 48 - 40
percent, but Vice President Joseph Biden trails Bush 44 - 38 percent and falls behind Paul 43 -
39 percent, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

Ms. Clinton gets a 52 - 40 percent favorability rating, down from an all-time high
61 - 34 percent in a February 8 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack)
University. Favorability ratings for other possible 2016 presidential contenders are:

Biden: Negative 37 - 44 percent;

Paul: Positive 32 - 24 percent, with 42 percent who don't know enough about him to form
an opinion;

Bush: 29 - 29 percent, with 42 percent who haven't formed an opinion.

Looking at immigration, 54 percent of American voters support a pathway to citizenship
for illegal immigrants, while 12 percent say these immigrants can stay but not become citizens
and 29 percent say they should be deported. Those numbers are virtually identical to the results
in Quinnipiac University's May 2 survey, but both represent a drop from April, before the
Boston bombing, when 59 percent backed a path to citizenship.

Voters say 71 - 24 percent, however, that Democrats and Republicans in Congress will
not be able to work together to achieve immigration reform.

"Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remains the queen of the 2016 hill at this
point, but the wide gap between her and some of the leading Republican contenders on
favorability may be closing, as her overall favorability has taken a hit," said Peter A. Brown,
assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.

"Her score is down substantially from her all-time high score in February. The drop in
her favorability is substantial among men, Republicans and independent voters. One reason for
her drop may be that 48 percent of voters blame her either a little or a lot for the death of the
American ambassador in Benghazi," Brown added.

In February, she was 91 - 5 percent favorable among Democrats, negative 27 - 68
percent among Republicans and 59 - 35 percent positive among independents. She was 53 - 42
favorable among men and 68 - 27 percent favorable among women.

"If Ms. Clinton chooses not to run in 2016, the potential Democratic field could include a
somewhat unpopular vice president and a number of new faces who are unknown to the vast
majority of Americans," said Brown. "The potential Republican candidates include many
unknowns also. Some of them, however, lead the incumbent vice president and outscore him
when it comes to overall voter favorability."

One thing voters of all parties agree upon is that Congress will not be able to pass an
immigration reform bill: 78 percent of Republicans, 61 percent of Democrats and 76 percent of
independent voters say Democrats and Republicans on Capitol Hill won't be able to agree.

"There isn't a lot of confidence outside the Beltway in the ability of those in Congress to
play nice and be productive," said Brown.

From May 22 - 28, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,419 registered voters with a margin
of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public
opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Iowa, Ohio,
Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research.

For more information, visit http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling, call (203) 582-5201, or
follow us on Twitter.

5. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Hillary Clinton the Democrat and Jeb Bush the Republican, for whom would you vote?

27. Which comes closest to your view about illegal immigrants who are currently living in the United States? A) They should be allowed to stay in the United States and to eventually apply for US citizenship. B) They should be allowed to remain in the United States, but not be allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship. C) They should be required to leave the U.S.

TREND: Which comes closest to your view about illegal immigrants who are currently living in the United States? A) They should be allowed to stay in the United States and to eventually apply for US citizenship. B) They should be allowed to remain in the United States, but not be allowed to apply for U.S. citizenship. C) They should be required to leave the U.S.

29. If a candidate for Congress supports a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, would that make you more likely to vote for that candidate, less likely to vote for that candidate, or wouldn't it make a difference?